


it never rains in southern california

by nervousbakedown



Category: Crooked Media RPF
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 10:25:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16830787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nervousbakedown/pseuds/nervousbakedown
Summary: Jon and Tommy have their first fight in over a decade of friendship. Leo observes, reflects, and tries to fix things.From Leo's POV.





	it never rains in southern california

When Leo wakes up, the first thing he does is jump up onto the bed. Of course, if he’s already sleeping in the bed with Jon, then he’ll whine and paw at his chest. Leo knows not to bark when it’s early in the morning because Jon makes a funny face. When humans wake up in the morning, they don’t like loud noises. Leo understands that. He doesn’t prefer loud noises either. One morning, Leo was out walking with Jon when a very big bicycle came roaring past them. Usually, bicycles are quiet, and the people on them signal they’re coming with a doorbell-like sound. But the big bicycle sounded like a car. Jon called it a motorcycle. After that, Leo had a name for that loud sound. He and Jon try to steer clear of motorcycles now. 

Leo puts his paw on Jon’s chest and Jon seems to be awake already. He pets Leo’s head, lightly scratching with the pads of his fingers. Leo looks at Jon and finds him holding his phone. It’s part of the morning routine. In about two minutes, Jon will yawn and decide to finally let Leo out. 

Sure enough, a few minutes later Jon gets up. Leo bounds off of the plush white bed, takes a left down the hallway, then goes down the stairs, then takes another left until he’s standing by the patio door. Outside, he sees the short grass and the concrete path around the pool. Ah, the pool. Leo’s not one for swimming, but he likes to sit in the little blue raft Jon got him, the one that lets him float on the water without getting wet. 

Jon comes down and opens the door finally, allowing Leo to scamper out into the yard. Leo goes to the far corner near the hedge and does his business. Usually Jon has a plastic bag in his hand to clean up after him, but he must be feeling lazy this morning. Leo does a few circles around the yard, stretching his legs after the previous night’s good sleep. It’s finally cooled down a bit in the land of the palm trees and sun, thank goodness. Leo stops and sees Jon standing outside the door. He has his phone in both hands, holding it up. Pictures. That’s another thing Leo has gotten used to. The phone does a lot of things, but one of the most important things it does is take pictures. Leo’s not allowed to use the phone — he probably couldn’t figure it out if he was, it seems complicated — but Jon takes pictures of him to show people what he’s up to. Apparently people really like them.

Leo runs in a few more circles and then goes back to Jon. “You ready to go to work, buddy?” Jon asks Leo. He opens the door and Leo goes back inside as soon as there’s enough room.

Before he changes out of his night clothes, Jon stops by the kitchen and puts food in Leo’s bowl. Leo almost forgot about breakfast! He’ll eat breakfast and then by the time he’s done Jon will be ready to go and they’ll get into the car with Tommy.

Riding to work with Tommy is fun. Tommy lets Leo rest his head in his lap and he pets him while he drives. This is something really extraordinary, according to Jon. Leo has overheard a lot of conversations between Jon and Tommy about how good Tommy is at things, like petting Leo while driving. Leo doesn’t know anything different – he’s known Tommy since he was a puppy, just like he’s known Jon since he was a puppy. Tommy has been more or less Leo’s second dad. He’s always very happy to see Leo. He gives him the best belly rubs. He also scratches his neck the best. (Don’t tell Jon.)

When Jon comes back downstairs, Leo gets up from lying on the cool tile floor and meets him at the door. When Jon first started bringing Leo to the office, he put him on his leash in the car. By now, Leo is used to it and doesn’t freak out, so he’s allowed to just run out the door and jump into the car, where Tommy is always waiting. 

Which is why it’s really peculiar that Jon leans down and clips Leo’s leash to his collar. Leo sits on his haunches and looks up at Jon, wondering what has changed today. Jon doesn’t give him any information besides a soft “Come on, buddy,” before he leads him out the front door. 

It takes a second for Leo to realize what’s different. When he does, he stops in his tracks. Tommy’s car isn’t in front of the house. The only cars are the neighbor’s car and Jon’s car, which is less big than Tommy’s. He prefers Tommy’s car. Where’s Tommy?

Jon pulls on Leo’s leash and Leo follows him after a moment. He’ll go, because he doesn’t want to stay home alone, but this day is already ruined!

~~~

Jon unclips Leo’s leash as soon as they’re in the office. Leo has fun at the office. Jon’s friends there have become his friends, too. He also gets to see his sister every day. Pundit can be a pain sometimes, but at the end of the day, Leo loves her. They’re like one big happy family! Pundit and Lovett and Tanya and Tommy and Jon and Elijah and the new girl whose name Leo can’t remember —

Tommy! Leo has to make sure Tommy is okay. He runs into the area where all their desks are and goes straight for Tommy’s. Leo doesn’t have to guess whether the legs under the desk are Tommy’s after all this time. Leo sits at Tommy’s feet before nuzzling against Tommy’s leg to let him know he’s there. 

Tommy shifts in his chair and Leo can see his head peak out from beyond the desk. The desks are fun to sit under, but it’s hard to see people’s faces. 

“Hey, there,” Tommy says softly. He smiles as he pets Leo in long swoops over his head and down his neck. After a few minutes, he stops, and then Leo hears the click-clack sound that comes from typing, which means he’s busy. 

Leo has yet to figure out why Tommy didn’t come by the house this morning. He lies down by Tommy’s feet, muzzle on the floor between his front paws. He sees Pundit walk in his direction and then make a turn towards Lovett’s desk. 

The people in the office are talking. There’s also voices that don’t belong to the people in the room, but are coming from the TV on the wall. When the TV is on, something is happening in the world. Apparently a lot of things happen these days, and not many of them are good. That’s why Jon started coming to this office. Leo is never quite sure what is making the people sad, but when he sees the talking people in boxes on the TV, it’s never a good sign. Jon usually cuddles him when he’s watching the talking people on the TV. 

The people in the office are talking, but Jon and Tommy are pretty silent. They sit really close to each other in the office. Leo likes to go between the two of them and get as many head scratches as he can without the other knowing. Leo usually hears Jon and Tommy’s voices among all the commotion when the office gets loud like this. It’s odd that they’re so quiet. Maybe Tommy isn’t okay after all. Maybe Jon isn’t okay either. 

Something is different, and Leo knows it. But he doesn’t know what it is. He gets up and goes to find Pundit under Lovett’s desk. Maybe she’ll know.

~~~

The day only gets weirder. Even after the noise from the TV and people calms down, Jon and Tommy still don’t talk to each other. They both pet Leo when he walks near their feet, but not for very long. Leo ends up hanging out with Pundit most of the day. They go to the room with the nice carpet and the curtain.

Pundit doesn’t know what’s wrong with Jon and Tommy. Actually, when Leo tried to explain what was wrong out under Jon’s desk, Jon told him to be quiet. Leo tried to bark quieter, to communicate with Pundit without using sounds the best he could, but it didn’t work out so well. She just looked at him like he was crazy. “Crazy” is a word the humans use a lot. Everything is crazy. Crazy things are things that don’t make sense. Crazy people make even less sense.

Jon, Tommy, and Lovett come into the blue curtain room after a while. They come into this room every Monday at the same time. 

“Hey, there you two are,” Lovett says. It takes Leo a moment to realize he’s talking about Leo and his sister. Lovett looks at them and waves at them with his hand, like he’s saying hello.

Jon, Tommy, and Lovett sit around the table in the curtain room. None of them talk for awhile. Leo’s view of them gets blocked by Pundit when she gets up, then sits down right in front of Leo’s face. She paws at Leo, which means she wants to play. She must be in a lazy mood, because she doesn’t get up, just puts her paws around him while lying down. Leo doesn’t blame her. The first day back at the office after the two days off is always rough. Even more rough when Jon and Tommy have suddenly changed their routine.

Leo really doesn’t feel like roughhousing, especially not with the situation happening between Jon and Tommy. Leo and Pundit lazily bat at each other for fun for awhile, until Leo hears voices. Jon starts talking first, and Leo lifts his head to hear him. His voice is different from when he talks to Leo.

Leo moves so he can see Jon talk. Whenever all three of them talk in this room, they don’t sound quite like they do when they talk to Leo and Pundit. They sound loud and projected, not soft. They still sound friendly though. Leo likes to come in here when they are in here because he likes to see them happy. Leo is never quite sure what they are laughing about, but he likes to see them laugh.

There isn’t much laughing happening right now. Jon doesn’t even sound friendly right now. Leo taps Pundit once with his paw to get her to stop trying to play with him, then looks back to their people around the table. Pundit gets the hint. They sit there and try to figure out what’s so different about today.

Usually when they talk at the table, they all look at each other. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett look at each other when they talk. People, just like dogs, like to be looked at when they talk. When people like each other and are having fun, they smile and meet each other’s eyes. Like when Jon picks Leo up and smiles while looking right at him. That makes Leo happy.

The more Leo studies them, the more he realizes his first idea wasn’t right — Jon and Tommy are definitely looking at Lovett when they speak to him, but Jon and Tommy are not looking at each other. When Tommy speaks, Jon looks at his tablet or his phone or his lap. When Jon speaks, Tommy does the same thing, but he’s more fidgety. He bites his nails and crosses his arms, then uncrosses them, then crosses his legs. Tommy is always a little fidgety, but today it’s worse than normal. What is happening?

Whatever it is, Leo doesn’t like it. He gets up and walks over to Tommy. Tommy doesn’t acknowledge him with words, just reaches down to pet him. Tommy pets Leo on his head, his fingers slipping down past his collar to pet his neck every so often. Tommy starts talking. He sounds tense and quiet.

Jon’s voice breaks in then, making Leo perk his head up. 

“Stop petting the dog, I can’t hear you.”

“What?” Tommy asks, confused.

“You’re bending down to pet the dog and you’re not speaking into the microphone,” Jon says.

Tommy doesn’t stop petting Leo. Leo looks up at Tommy and then turns his ear in Jon’s direction. Jon never uses that tone with Tommy!

“I’ll stop petting the dog when one of the producers, who we pay to give such commands, tells me to stop petting the dog,” Tommy says. His voice is really low and grumbly; his words almost slur together.

Jon’s voice gets louder. “Well, it’s my dog, so.”

Leo knows they’re talking about him for sure, now, and not in a good way. Tommy’s hands disappear from Leo’s fur the instant Jon finishes his sentence. There are a few moments of silence. Leo feels the need to go over to Jon, somehow try and ask him what’s wrong, but he also doesn’t want to leave Tommy’s side. Why would Jon want Tommy to stop petting him? Leo likes Tommy.

Lovett finally breaks the silence. “Guys, come on. Fake it for, like, a half hour, then you can go back to having your fight.”

 _Fight_. Is that what this is? That could be why Jon asked Tommy to stop petting him. It could be why Tommy didn’t drive them to work today, why Jon and Tommy aren’t speaking to each other like normal. The way Leo understands it, a fight between people is when they’re mad at each other. It’s kind of similar to when dogs fight, but when dogs fight it’s because they just want to play. Play fighting is fun, like when Pundit bats at Leo’s face. But she isn’t actually mad at him when she does that. 

Jon and Tommy certainly sound mad at each other. They don’t sound warm and friendly like they usually are; they have kept their distance from one another all day. Lovett just said they should “fake it.” Fake being nice to one another? That doesn’t sound very good.

Leo rubs his head against Tommy’s leg. Why should they have to fake it? Jon and Tommy like each other a lot. They’re the best of friends. Leo walks under the table until he gets to Jon, and rubs against his leg. Friends can get mad at each other, Leo guesses, but there has to be a good reason why, especially when they’re Jon and Tommy. 

The three continue their conversation, and Leo can practically feel the tense mood in the room! Jon reaches down to pick Leo up. He doesn’t look at him. Leo sits in his lap, head resting in the bend of Jon’s elbow. Leo can tell Jon is really stressed out just by how tight he holds him. 

Jon, Tommy, and Lovett keep talking to each other around the table for awhile, but the tension doesn’t go away. Leo gets the idea to jump off Jon’s lap and go over to Tommy again. He doesn’t know what he might accomplish, but he wants to see if there’s something he can do. Jon and Tommy are both frustrated and sad right now, and Leo wants to show Tommy that he is still his friend, even though Jon lashed out at him earlier. Jon may be mad at Tommy, for reasons still unknown, but that doesn’t mean Leo has to be.

Leo walks in a circle around Tommy’s feet before rubbing against Tommy’s leg, walking forward so his head gets pet, then his neck and torso. He does it a couple of times, but Tommy doesn’t acknowledge him. No hand slipping down past his collar to scratch his neck.

Later in the day, Jon holds Leo while he sits at his desk. And just like earlier, Jon holds him awfully tight, his arms rigid against him. It doesn’t hurt or anything. It just doesn’t make Leo feel very good about Jon’s state of mind.

Leo ends up taking a nap. He doesn’t know how long it lasts, but he’s woken some time later by Jon petting him and setting him back on the floor. Jon clips his leash to his collar and leads him to the door. Leo resists once they’re close to the door, making his leash go tight. He barks up at Jon once. Leo hasn’t said bye to Tommy yet. Jon hasn’t either!

But then Leo remembers that Jon and Tommy are _fighting_ , that there probably won’t be a goodbye today, and he gets upset all over again.

~~~

The next morning at home is normal as can be until they have to leave. Like yesterday morning, there’s no Tommy’s car waiting for them at the curb, no Tommy giving Leo a good morning pet.

Leo climbs into the passenger seat of Jon’s car. His leg gets tangled in his leash. The whole way to the office, Leo stares at Jon. He’s not going to bark — it’s too early for that — so he stares. 

Jon glances over at Leo occasionally. Leo knows he notices the staring, but Jon doesn’t say anything until a long stoplight. 

“What’s with the eyes, Leo?” he asks.

Leo tilts his head and blinks. 

“Are you mad or something?” Jon sighs and grips the steering wheel tight with both hands. “Look, I know this is weird. But Tommy will be back soon, as soon as he apologizes.”

The car moves forward, so Jon has to focus on the road. He keeps talking to Leo as he drives. Leo watches his face, watches the trees go by in the blue sky behind him.

“If he apologizes,” Jon scoffs, rolls his eyes. “He has a lot of nerve, you know. You can’t just almost kiss your best friend and then pretend it didn’t happen.”

Well, this is brand new information!

At this point in Leo’s life, he’s used to how Jon talks. By the time he stopped talking, Jon didn’t mention Tommy by name, but Leo knew he was still talking about Tommy. Tommy’s name disappeared as he went along, almost like mentioning it was too difficult.

Tommy, apparently, almost kissed Jon. Not only that, but then he acted like he didn’t. Leo knows what kissing is. He’s watched people kiss. Jon kisses Leo all the time. Tommy kisses Leo too, right on top of his head. It’s a nice feeling, kisses. Leo has learned that Jon and Tommy kiss him because they love him.

At first, it seemed odd to Leo — what’s the connection between mouths and love? But then he thought about how he gets the urge to lick Jon. That’s his version of kissing!

If Tommy tried to kiss Jon like he kisses Leo, then that must mean he loves him a lot. That makes sense. Leo may be young, but he knows what love is. Jon and Tommy are together almost as much as Jon and Leo are. Jon takes Leo over to Tommy’s house and sometimes they go to the ocean together. Leo likes to dig in the sand while Jon and Tommy talk to each other. On days like that, they talk so long and so much that Leo loses track of what they say! They stay until the sun goes down. And then, when the bright gold sun comes up, Tommy shows up with his car and they all go to the office. Tommy smiles at Jon so big every time he and Leo get in Tommy’s car. Why wouldn’t Tommy try and kiss Jon?

Leo finds himself turning to look out the car window. Out the window, he sees the palm trees travel past — the trees that loom over everything and look spiky. He sees the buildings and all the people walking on the paths next to them. Leo watches the humans with each other, humans taking dogs for walks. If he was in Tommy’s car, Leo would be able to see them better. Leo stares at the rapidly changing scenery until the car slows down when they get to the office building. Leo can’t help but get excited to go inside, even though he comes here every day!

Jon stops the car. He reaches for Leo, picks him up, and holds him close and tight. They walk into the office like they have for months now, like they did yesterday.

Leo’s excitement doesn’t last long. He’s reminded of yesterday, of how today feels the same as yesterday. No car ride with Tommy, a stressed Jon who’s holding him awfully tight, the fact that Jon and Tommy are in a fight. A fight over a kiss, no less!

Once they walk into the office and Jon sets Leo down on the hardwood floor, the problem hits Leo all at once.

Jon is upset at Tommy because Tommy tried to kiss him and didn’t follow through. Jon either really wants Tommy to kiss him or doesn’t want it — doesn’t love Tommy enough to kiss him. 

Leo has to wonder: Which is worse?

~~~

Leo puts his paws on the back of the couch near the window. The bright sky from earlier has turned dark. As if Leo wasn’t already disturbed, the sudden darkness makes him more uncomfortable. Leo has to turn away from the window. He yawns and lies down on the end of the couch, next to the pillow.

His sister hops up onto the couch and lies down on his other side. Leo wonders if Pundit knows what’s going on with Jon and Tommy yet. If only Pundit could tell Lovett, Lovett could help Jon and Tommy, because he’s their best friend, too. 

Well, if he’s their best friend, he’s probably already helping. All three are best friends. Where are they?

Even though he knows it’ll annoy Pundit, Leo jumps back off the couch and leaves the room. He walks out to where the people are, and walks until he gets to the side with Jon, Tommy, and Lovett’s desks. Leo walks to Lovett first and rubs against his legs. He stays long enough to get pet and hear Lovett tell him hello before moving on.

After Lovett’s is Tommy’s desk. Leo stops next to the wood thing Tommy makes music with, propped against the wall next to the bed Leo and Pundit share sometimes. Tommy sits up straight, his chair pushed in as close to the desk as can be. He’s typing and has plugs in his ears. Leo stands there and studies Tommy’s face. He finds Tommy’s expression so empty, so out of the ordinary, his normally bright eyes so sad and dark. Leo knows he doesn’t want attention right now. He walks under the desk past Tommy, without brushing against his legs. 

Next to Tommy’s desk is Jon’s. They put their desks sort of facing each other because they like to talk a lot. (Tommy said so once.) But Tommy’s not one for talking today, and so Jon is very, _very_ sad. Jon rests his chin in his hand and blankly stares at the computer screen in front of him, just like Tommy. Goodness, Leo hates this!

Leo sits at Jon’s feet until Jon acknowledges him by reaching out his hand. Leo ignores it and decides to hop into his lap instead. It’s much better for both of them this way when they’re sad.

“Oh. Hi bud,” Jon murmurs. He pets Leo’s back in long strokes before leaning down and kissing him on the top of his head. 

If Leo knew how, he’d bring up the fact that Tommy is usually the one who kisses him like that. Then, Leo would ask Jon if he and Tommy could work out their fight. He’d try to help them.

You both have been so miserable lately! Leo would say. He would then ask Tommy, _Don’t you know Jon loves you?_ He’d do the same for Jon, of course. He’d look him right in the eyes and ask, _Don’t you know Tommy loves you?_

Sighing, Jon meets Leo’s eyes. All that comes out of Leo’s mouth is a short, sharp bark. Jon starts to make that _shh_ sound at him, but he’s cut off by Tommy. Leo turns his head abruptly at the sound of Tommy’s voice. 

Tommy keeps his eyes dead set on his screen. His voice is a low grumble. “Take it outside.”

Leo flinches and looks back up at Jon. Jon’s staring at Tommy, his dark eyes big and watery. 

“Come on, Leo,” Jon announces to the whole office. “We’re taking a walk.”

~~~

Leo sits on Jon’s lap most of the rest of the day after their walk. Jon only gets up once, and Leo waits a moment before following him to the kitchen. Lovett comes in a moment later. Leo finds a bone on the floor, left by Pundit, and lies down in between the feet of his dad and his uncle.

“So, you haven’t talked yet?” Lovett asks.

“No,” Jon crosses his arms. “It’s not on me.”

Leaning against the counter, Lovett reaches into a basket and gets a piece of fruit. He weighs it in both his hands, like he thought he wanted to eat it but changed his mind. “You’re an idiot. Have you ever even gone more than a few days without talking to each other since 2005?”

Jon crosses his arms tighter around himself, hugging himself like people do when they’re cold. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.”

“I think it’s the first one,” Lovett sighs and puts the piece of fruit back. “You want me to talk to him?”

“No. I’ll — it’ll be fine, I just—” Jon abruptly stops and makes a noise, an exasperated grumble. He walks out of the room without saying bye to Lovett, with his arms still crossed.

“Your dad is losing it, man,” Lovett tells Leo.

Leo doesn’t know what “losing it” means, but he knows he needs to go back to Jon.

It’s pretty dark in the office now. An abnormal amount of dark. Leo sits, half asleep against Jon’s leg while Jon types. The tap-tap-tap sound, the darkness, and his own sad mood all lull him to sleep.

~~~

When Leo wakes up, he’s in the car. He’s curled up on the smooth black seat all by himself. He yawns and looks around until he sees Jon with his hands on the wheel. They’re on their way home. The leash is clipped to Leo’s collar. No Tommy. Leo misses Tommy so much.

At home, Leo leads Jon over to a shrub and pees by it before they go inside. He feels frustrated all of a sudden, so he digs his front feet into the grass and claws at it, pushes into the grass until he feels mud. He digs up dirt, tossing it behind him. He’s not looking for anything and he’s not planning on burying anything; he’s just angry. 

Leo doesn’t get very far before Jon notices. Jon brings his phone down, away from his face, and yells at Leo. 

“Hey! No, Leo! None of that!” Jon yells, so loud Leo jumps in the air. Jon bends down, puts his hand on Leo’s side and urges him towards the house. Leo walks inside, keeping pace with Jon, keeping his head down.

In the house, things are normal. Well, everything _looks_ normal to Leo. Jon fills Leo’s bowl and Leo eats dinner; Jon fixes dinner for himself and eats on the couch while watching the big screen. But things aren’t normal. If Jon and Tommy’s relationship was like normal, then things would actually be normal.

Leo has learned that how things seem and how they actually are can be two different things, like how chasing after a bird is way harder in real life than the dogs on the big screen make it look.

Jon sits on the couch with his legs stretched out onto the table. Leo can tell he doesn’t want to be bothered, so Leo goes over to his toy basket in the corner. He watches Jon for another minute or so. Jon is staring at the smaller screen in his hand too, his phone. Two screens at once? People are strange. 

Leo rises up on his back legs so he can push the toy basket over. Its contents mostly on the floor, Leo pokes around until he finds his favorite chewy. 

The sound coming from Jon’s screens and the small squeaks from the toy aren’t enough to distract Leo from his own thoughts. Tommy got him this toy, and he remembers that day perfectly!

Leo was a puppy and he didn’t know Tommy very well yet. Leo remembers how Tommy knelt in the kitchen and squeezed the toy, a blue animal from a far away place called a dinosaur. Leo climbed onto Tommy’s lap and bit the toy. It was hard because his mouth was so small then, but he made it squeak. Tommy smiled and laughed, which made Leo feel good. Jon came in the room then and sat down on the floor with them, right next to Tommy. Leo could tell Jon and Tommy were very close friends. They smiled at each other and pet Leo at the same time while Leo teethed on his new blue dinosaur.

Soon, the toy fell out of Leo’s mouth because Tommy picked him up. He then kissed him on the top of his head for the first time. It was at that moment that Leo felt like he knew Tommy, and he loved him enough to kiss him. Leo licked Tommy’s face, and when he realized Jon was also close enough to kiss, Leo turned and licked his cheek, making both Jon and Tommy laugh again.

The dinosaur lost its squeak awhile ago. Tommy isn’t here. The present time comes back all at once and, suddenly, Leo is heartbroken. His dinosaur falls from his mouth and he pushes it aside with his snout. 

Across the room, Jon lets out a sigh. He sniffles and Leo watches him wipe his nose before he sits up and covers his face with his hands. Oh, heavens, no! Leo can’t bear it when Jon cries. 

He looks away, looks at the blue dinosaur again. Leo thinks about how he doesn’t know what life without both Jon _and_ Tommy is like. Thinking about Jon and Tommy playing with Leo as a puppy, Jon and Tommy at the ocean, their morning car rides, it’s so obvious! Leo may be young, but he knows that Jon and Tommy must have had all that love between them before they got Leo. Jon and Tommy loved each other then and they love each other now. 

It’s up to Leo to remind Jon of that. If neither of them are going to fix it, Leo has to. 

Leo sits up and surveys the room. Tommy comes over to their house so much, Leo can practically feel all he’s left here. Leo decides to walk around, his nose to the carpet. He picks up Tommy’s scent while he wonders how to remind Jon of Tommy’s love for him. Can Jon smell Tommy even when he’s gone like Leo can? Probably not. 

Jon is still crying, so Leo turns the other way and heads down the hallway. Tommy’s scent gets stronger the closer he gets to the extra bedroom on this floor. Leo turns and goes into the dark room. The bed has been slept in, the blankets all thrown off and tangled about. It smells like Tommy in there. Tommy probably slept in the bed not too long ago, maybe last week. 

If Leo barked really loud, calling out for Jon, maybe Jon would come in and see what Tommy left behind. Leo jumps up onto the bed and sniffs the pillow — it’s less sweet than how Jon smells. Tommy smells more like a forest. Like the forest he went to with Jon and Tommy when he was little. Goodness, another example of how much they love each other!

No, Leo can’t be loud. It’ll make Jon scold him, like he did when he dug up the dirt earlier. Jon doesn’t like loud noises when he’s upset.

Leo bounds off the bed and sniffs the soft carpet on his way out. Tommy’s scent trail leads him to the bathroom. The cool tile feels good on Leo’s paws as he sniffs his way to the laundry basket. Of course!

Both Jon and Tommy’s distinct smells mix together in the basket with all the clothes. Leo pushes himself up, gets his front paws on the basket so he can sniff inside. The hard, dark-colored basket is tall. Leo stretches the best he can on his hind legs, digging through the t-shirts and pants and small pants people put on before their pants. (Leo has never learned what they’re called.)

Leo finds a striped shirt that he knows is Tommy’s, that smells like Tommy through and through. Leo gets a little bit of the cloth in his mouth and pulls, but half of the shirt is under a bunch of other clothes. He bites onto it again and pulls. This time, he feels the basket shift towards him, and before Leo even realizes it the basket is tumbling over! Leo steps back before the basket can hit him. Thank goodness — this one is a lot heavier than his toy basket. 

Leo bites onto the striped shirt sleeve and pulls. It comes free much easier this way, being able to use all his legs. He’ll have to lead Jon into the bathroom later so he can see he made a mess.

Leo thinks showing Jon the shirt is a good idea. Leo walks out of the bathroom, the charms on his collar tinkling and the fabric of Tommy’s shirt dragging on the carpet next to him. 

Out in the big room, Jon still sits with his face in his hands, although now he’s more hunched over. He notices Leo once he gets to the space between the couch and the table. Jon brings his hands away from his face and looks at Leo. 

Leo turns and focuses really hard before jumping up onto the couch. He’s proud he was able to keep Tommy’s shirt in his mouth. He drags it a little more so it’s fully on the couch before he walks closer to Jon. Jon stares at him, his eyebrows raised and his mouth open.

Once Leo is close enough, he drops Tommy’s shirt. It lands on Jon’s thigh. Leo wets his muzzle and shakes his fur out before sitting. 

Jon stares at the striped fabric for a moment before picking it up in both hands. When Jon’s eyes meet Leo’s again, they’re big and watery. 

“Do you miss him?” Jon asks Leo. 

Leo tilts his head to the side and blinks. 

Jon spreads out Tommy’s shirt so he can see the whole thing before bringing it to his chest, crumpling it back up. 

“I miss him, too,” Jon nods, tears falling down his cheeks. 

Leo whines two times in agreement. Jon starts to cry after that, hard, whining in his own way, his chest heaving as he lies down on the couch on his side. Leo watches him bring Tommy’s shirt up to his face and breathe in the scent for himself. He pulls it back after a few seconds, clings to it loosely as he cries. Leo whines again through his nose, his way of crying, as he goes to lie down against Jon. Leo rests his back against Jon’s chest, his nose between his paws, and immediately feels Jon’s hand in his fur. 

Leo decides to stay awake for as long as he can, feeling more protective of Jon than usual. He knows Jon has fallen asleep once his petting stops. 

At some point before he falls asleep, Leo begins to hear water outside — water against the roof of the house and the grass and shrubs. It’s a light patter, like everyone in the neighborhood turned on their garden hose at once.

Oh, goodness. It’s been awhile since Leo has heard it, so he has trouble remembering what the word is at first. But soon, he remembers what this water is called.

Rain.

~~~

The rain hasn’t stopped when Leo wakes up the next morning. The sky out the big window is still dark and dreary, not the bright blue he’s used to. He’s still on the couch. He can hear Jon breathing behind him.

Leo uncurls himself, stands up and stretches. Jon still has Tommy’s shirt in his hands. He has dark circles around his eyes from crying last night. Leo leans in close to him and licks his face until he wakes up. 

“Hmmph, Leo,” Jon mumbles. He squeezes Tommy’s shirt tight in his hand before letting go. Leo watches the same hand wander in the air until it finds Leo’s neck.

Jon opens his eyes and slowly sits up after a moment. He looks around, his eyebrows raised. Leo has come to recognize this expression of his as confusion.

“It’s raining?” Jon asks. 

After patting Leo on the back, Jon sits up and gets his phone. 

“Fuck, I slept in,” Jon mumbles. He looks down at his own chest before rubbing his eyes. Leo just watches.

“I know, buddy. I’m a mess.”

The rain means that Leo would get wet if he went outside, but he really has to pee. Leo decides to imagine he’s at the dog spa getting a bath when he goes out. He bounds off the couch and goes to stand by the door. Jon looks at his phone for a bit until he gets up. 

“You’re gonna make me go out in the rain?” Jon sets his phone on the table. 

Leo tilts his head in agreement instead of barking. Neither him or Jon like loud noises in the morning.

Jon grabs Leo’s leash off the hook by the door. Leo doesn’t want it; he’s gone out without it for a long time now, but Jon has been leashing him ever since his fight with Tommy started. Jon must know that Leo would never leave, and Tommy hasn’t actually left him. That could never happen.

Once Leo’s leash is clipped on, Jon stops and looks around for a moment. He says “oh, what the hell” before opening the front door and letting Leo go out first. 

The rain isn’t as heavy as it sounds, and it’s not as cold as the grey sky made Leo think it would be. Leo walks around the perimeter of the yard, pees against the shrub he did last night, and walks around some more. He looks back at Jon occasionally and sees Jon’s arm crossed over his chest, his shoulders raised like a scared cat. His hair, face, and t-shirt are quickly getting wet. He smiles at Leo, a little smile, and Leo turns back around and leads him around the patio, past the pool. 

Skipping through the cool grass, Leo rounds the other side of the house until they get to the front yard. When Leo looks out onto the road in front of the house, he stops. 

He sees a light colored car that wasn’t there before. A car bigger than Jon’s.

Leo knows that car.

It’s Tommy’s car!

Leo can’t help it — he barks once, loud and high. 

“What?” Jon asks. 

Leo starts running, tugs on Jon when he has to until Jon catches up with him. Leo stops when they get to the cement path that connects the road to the house. He sees someone get out of the car, someone tall. Sure enough, it’s Tommy, wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants in the rain, just like Jon. 

Leo can’t help but start running again, but Jon holds him back. He gives up and walks quickly alongside Jon. Tommy walks toward them with his head down. They end up meeting halfway down the path. Leo sits in between them and looks up at them, at their familiar yet sad faces against the grey sky.

“Hi,” Tommy says, his hands deep in his pants pockets.

“Hi,” Jon’s eyes are big. He might be crying again, but Leo can’t tell because of the rain. “What are – what are you doing here?”

“You didn’t show up to work, dude. You didn’t answer my texts. I was —” Tommy shakes his head. “I was worried.”

Jon lets out a long sigh and looks up at the sky. “Tommy, I’m a mess. I can’t do this anymore, I’m — I need you.”

The rain starts to fall to the ground faster. Leo shakes his fur out and sits back down, looking up at Jon and Tommy in anxious wait.

“Me too, Jon. Me too, look, I’m sorry for being such a dick about this —”

Jon cuts Tommy off. He twists Leo’s leash around his hand and grips it tightly. “I just want things to be normal again. I totally get it if you don’t want me as more than a friend, that’s fine, I just need you back.”

Tommy’s cheeks are flushed, his hair stuck to his forehead. “Wait, what?”

“You went for the kiss and changed your mind because you realized that’s not what you wanted,” Jon shrugs. “I thought it was going to happen, finally, but it didn’t and that’s okay.” Jon spoke fast, so fast Leo almost couldn’t keep up.

“Jesus, Jon,” Tommy sighs. He brings his hand up to his face, covering it for a moment. “I stopped and ran off because I was scared. I thought _you_ wouldn’t want me like that!”

“Oh,” Jon says softly. “Oohh.”

Leo looks between Jon and Tommy quickly, trying to figure out their emotions. Both Jon and Tommy looked shocked, surprised. Tommy saying how he ran off made Leo remember a few days ago, on the second day of their two day break from work, how Jon and Tommy took Leo to the ocean like they did all the time. They took a long walk along the sand and walked out on this bridge above the water. Leo remembers that Tommy stood in the middle, holding Leo’s leash with one hand and Jon’s hand with the other. It was the first time Leo remembered seeing Tommy hold Jon’s hand like that. Jon and Tommy were very happy, and they stayed out all day until the sun went down.

They came home, and Jon and Tommy sat on the couch. Leo went upstairs to get his favorite chew toy, his dinosaur, and when he came back, Tommy was gone. 

Oh, heavens.

Tommy smiles and looks down at the ground, water dripping down and off his face. He turns and catches Leo’s eye. Leo tilts his head. It feels so good to see Tommy, to see Tommy’s smile again.

“Your dad is an idiot,” Tommy says to Leo. 

Jon steps forward and pushes Tommy’s chest. He smiles and looks down, too. “You’re an idiot.”

Tommy laughs and puts his hand over Jon’s before he can pull it away. They make eye contact and Tommy steps closer to Jon. 

“Can I try again?” Tommy reaches up and presses his palm to Jon’s cheek.

Jon lets out another heavy breath, a smile on his face. He nods. “Yeah.”

Tommy leans in and presses his lips to Jon’s, kissing him at long last. Leo can hardly believe it! He stands up and wags his tail. Looking up at them, he notices them smiling while kissing, rainwater streaming down their faces. Leo walks forward and stands in the tight space between their feet. Jon and Tommy stand so close while they kiss that Leo doesn’t feel the rain on him from down there. He rubs his head against both of their legs, one at a time. He notices Jon’s hand, the hand that Leo’s leash is wrapped around, clinging to Tommy’s wet t-shirt.

Leo knows they’re finished when the rain starts falling on his head again. Jon and Tommy stand facing each other, holding hands and grinning at each other.

“Come on, I’m sure Leo wants to go inside,” Jon laughs. 

Tommy looks down at Leo, his head tilting to the side.

“Aw, buddy, I’m so sorry!” Tommy coos before crouching down to pick Leo up. Leo presses his head into Tommy’s chest as they follow Jon inside.

~~~

Leo hears birds chirping and feels warm sunshine on his fur. He wakes up slowly at the foot of Jon’s bed when he feels the blankets move under him. Leo yawns and stands up. He walks up the bed towards Jon, amazed at how good he feels!

Leo soon realizes, however, that it isn’t just Jon in the bed. Tommy is there too! Tommy sits up, the blankets falling off his chest. He stretches his arms in the air, like Leo just stretched upon waking up. 

“Good morning, Leo,” Tommy smiles at him. His light hair is sticking up all funny. Leo goes over to him and climbs into his lap. Tommy pets him, getting under his collar with his fingers in the way only Tommy knows how. 

“Hmm?” Jon says from under the covers. He turns on his other side, facing Tommy and Leo. “Oh. Morning boys.”

Tommy laughs under his breath. “I’ll take him out.”

“Oh!” Jon says. He sits up slowly, kicks the white blankets off him. “I’ll come too.”

“Okay,” Tommy gets out of bed. He picks up a shirt off the floor and puts it on — the striped one that he’d left, that Jon held while he slept the night before last, courtesy of Leo. 

Leo doesn’t feel like waiting for Jon and Tommy. He runs down the stairs, jogs around the couch a few times, then goes to wait by the patio door. When they come down and Jon opens the door, Leo runs along the hedges, stopping to do his business before running again, the fresh air and warm sun feeling wonderful. 

“Can’t even tell it rained yesterday,” Leo hears Tommy say. Leo goes back over to them after he feels satisfied, after his legs are stretched. Jon and Tommy let him back in, Tommy’s arm wrapped around Jon’s waist.

Jon feeds Leo breakfast and it feels like a perfectly normal morning! The only difference is that Tommy is around earlier. If anything, having Tommy around makes everything more normal, the real kind of normal.

Jon and Tommy disappear for a bit while they get ready to go to the office. When they come back down the stairs, Leo runs to the front door and waits for them. They don’t seem too rushed to leave, walking and talking like normal, the bags they take to the office on their shoulders. As they get closer, Leo notices the dark circles under their eyes from the past few days are gone, both of them can’t seem to stop smiling. They hold hands until they have to pull on their shoes. 

Tommy claps once before bending down and picking Leo up. 

“You ready to go, big guy?” Tommy asks Leo. 

Leo leans forward and gives Tommy a kiss. 

“You two, I swear to God,” Jon grins as he opens the door. Tommy steps past him and Jon follows without grabbing Leo’s leash.

In the car, Leo sits on Tommy’s lap. Jon and Tommy put their sunglasses on and click their seatbelts into place. As Tommy turns the car on, he kisses Leo on the top of his head. 

Leo has fun being back in Tommy’s lap on the drive to the office. He contemplates climbing over into Jon’s lap, but those few days without Tommy felt so long! Tommy drives with one hand and pets Leo every so often. Leo looks out Tommy’s window, and he’s able to see all the people and dogs walking, all the palm trees and houses and blue sky. Everyone seems so happy!

When they arrive at the office, Leo gets excited to have a normal day again. He’s excited to sit with Jon and Tommy in the blue curtain room and hear them laugh together like normal. He’s excited to take a walk with Jon and Tommy in a few hours, like the happy people he saw out the car window. And Leo’s excited for Jon and Tommy to take him home later tonight, to go to sleep, and then do it again tomorrow!

Before they get out of the car, Jon pushes his sunglasses up onto his head. “Hey, Tommy?”

Tommy copies him, turns toward him with Leo still in his lap. “Yeah?”

“I love you,” says Jon.

Tommy smiles. “I love you, too.”

Jon leans forward at the same time Tommy does. They kiss, like people do, and Leo barely restrains himself from standing up and wagging his tail. _Jon loves Tommy! Tommy loves Jon!_

Upon pulling back, Jon looks at Leo. He leans in closer to Leo so that their noses touch, pets his head with both hands, smoothes his thumbs over Leo’s soft ears.

“And you,” Jon tells him. “I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> title and general vibes from the albert hammond song


End file.
